Proposed UN sanctions on North Korea would be the toughest yet, US says

A United Nations draft resolution punishing North Korea would impose the toughest sanctions yet for its latest nuclear test and rocket launch, according to U.S. ambassador Samantha Power, who said Thursday, "The world will not accept your proliferation."

The 22-page proposal would force inspections on all cargo going in and out of North Korea. It would ban the supply of aviation fuel, including rocket fuel, and would blacklist more individuals and entities tied to North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Speaking to the secretive regime, Power said, "There will be consequences for your actions, and we will work relentlessly and collectively to stop your nuclear program." Seven weeks have passed since North Korea claimed it conducted its first hydrogen bomb test.

The U.S. and China agreed to the draft resolution Wednesday, Security Council diplomats told Fox News. A senior Western diplomat said a vote on the resolution could take place by this weekend.

The U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China hold veto power over any resolution as permanent members.

The agreement follows a flurry of activity in Washington, including meetings between China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday, and with National Security Adviser Susan Rice on Wednesday afternoon.

National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said Rice and Wang agreed "on the importance of a strong and united international response to North Korea's provocations, including through a U.N. Security Council resolution that goes beyond previous resolutions."

"They agreed that they will not accept North Korea as a nuclear weapons state," Price said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kerry told a Congressional hearing: "We're on the brink of achieving a strong United Nations Security Council resolution."

North Korea started off the new year with what it claims was its first hydrogen bomb test on Jan. 6 and followed that up with the launch of a satellite on a rocket on Feb. 7 that was condemned by much of the world as a test of banned missile technology.

Over the past 10 years, North Korea has conducted four nuclear tests and launched six long-range missiles — all in violation of Security Council resolutions.

South Korea's U.N. Ambassador Oh Joon has urged the Security Council to adopt "extraordinary" measures to make clear to the North "that it will no longer tolerate its nuclear weapons development."

The U.S., its Western allies and Japan, also pressed for new sanctions that go beyond the North's nuclear and missile programs. But China, Pyongyang's neighbor and supporter on the council, has been reluctant to impose measures that could threaten the stability of North Korea and cause the country's economy to collapse.

Wang said Tuesday that a new U.N. resolution alone cannot resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and that dialogue was needed.

He said China was urging a "parallel track" in which there were both talks on denuclearization — the top priority of the United States — and replacing the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War with a formal peace treaty, a key demand of Pyongyang.

While the U.S. and China were discussing a new U.N. resolution, the United States took tougher steps of its own against North Korea, tightening sanctions and announcing it will hold formal talks with South Korea on deploying a missile defense system that China fears could be used against it as well North Korea.

South Korea and Japan have also announced new measures against Pyongyang.

Fox News' Jonathan Wachtel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.